A body of technology has been developed for non-contact substance detection of substances. One application of this technology is to detect for the presence of a substance that is harmful to humans, whether intentionally or inadvertently deployed.
Spectroscopy is an example of a technology that is used to analyze the spectrum produced in response to illumination of a substance with a beam of light. For example, the beam of light may be in the ultraviolet wavelength region. The light beam interacts with the substance(s) surface and scatters back or returns optical energy in certain wavelength regions depending on the chemical or biological make-up of the substance(s). The returned optical energy is also referred to as the signature. In a spectroscopy-based detection system, the constituent wavelengths of the returned optical energy are separated out by a spectrograph and measured.
Raman spectroscopy is a spectroscopy technique useful to study vibrational, rotational, and other low-frequency modes in a system. Fluorescence spectroscopy is another response useful to discern characteristics of a substance. Fluorescence refers to emission of light caused when a material absorbs optical energy of one wavelength and re-emits light of another wavelength. Fluorescence spectroscopy has evolved into a powerful tool for the study of chemical, semiconductor, photochemical, and biochemical species.
One platform for deploying spectroscopy detection equipment is a manned or unmanned vehicle. On such a platform, it is desirable to minimize the amount of equipment needed to carry out the desired functions in order to conserve space, weight and power resources, but without sacrificing detection capabilities. Thus, whereas devices may be heretofore known that are each capable of performing a specific detection technique, what is needed is a detection system made of modules that use the same detection technologies and therefore can share many components for optimal deployment in a space-limited platform.